Political Influence

Political Influence

Once they gained a foothold in American society, Eastern Europeans immigrants had considerable political influence on the United States government, particularly where their homeland was concerned. Lithuanians had a great impact on President Woodrow Wilson following World War I as they repeatedly petitioned for his influence in creating and recognizing an independent Lithuania in Europe. Poles also staged a movement in the United States for an autonomous Polish state, as did Ukranians in order to see the end of the Magyarization policies in their homeland. Following the Bolshevick Revolution, White Russians immigrated to the United States and represented a continuous resistance against the Soviet Union. Especially during the two world wars, the impact of developments abroad on minority groups in the United States was felt all across American Political and social arenas, especially in the Northeast, where the ethnic enclaves were the most plentiful. The United States government later saw minorities as sources of great information for dealing with post World War II Europe. Americans of Polish, Croatian, Serbian, Slovak, Czech, Hungarian and other descendants are interested in European issues… because they see better the possible dangers in the European situation. Most recently, the Soviet repression of Solidarity and other anti-Communist movements across Eastern Europe sparked more immigration and more political pressure on the United States government to halt Soviet expansion and repression during the Cold War.